Poet Boats

In the midst of my À Lure installation at Canessa Gallery, I had to move several elements in order to make room for a poetry reading that had been held at the gallery for over 25 years. So I wrote a poem, and printed it on kozo fiber boats, floated them on racks made of fishing tackle, and hung them in the corner, a silent contribution to the reading. I was then asked to bind the boat rack and make a book of poetry of the poetry on the boats: Poet Boats. Thus began an ongoing process of building boats and poetry, that continues to this day.

        A poem has a rhythm, and even free verse has a cadence usually delineated by punctuation or line breaks. Poet Boats invites the reader to move from side to side to find the meter of the poem. Each line stands on its own, and can be read top to bottom or the reverse for surprising differences in meaning. The boats can even be rearranged in their racks for a different interpretation.